


Cause why not?

by Avengeraadict



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bottom Byun Baekhyun, CEO Kim Junmyeon | Suho, CEO Lu Han, CEO Oh Sehun, CEO Park Chanyeol, Eventual Chanbaek, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Oh Sehun is a Little Shit, Slow Burn, Top Park Chanyeol, University Student Byun Baekhyun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-12-29 01:40:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21130793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avengeraadict/pseuds/Avengeraadict
Summary: Baekhyun is a university student, working two jobs, and taking care of his twin siblings, cause his parents love him so much. Park Chanyeol is the CEO of one of the biggest gym's in the country. He also happens to be a regular at Baekhyun's new job.orChanyeol and his rich kid squad kind of like the new barista they met at their favorite café.**Hiatus**





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there, this is, hopefully, going to be my first developed(?) fic, so please spare me. I've kind of been writing this in my little personal journal just as a little something on the side when I get bored, and I finally decided why not clean it up a bit and post for the first time in ages? The first chapter is just an intro (which will be very short and unprofessional just like everything else I do), if you choose to read.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for ruining your day with my trash writing, it means a lot to me :,)

There are a lot of characters that randomly pop up for a single chapter and then disappear. Also some completely random ships that my mind just decided to create. Please don't be offended. I also did include a few C-stars, because I felt like it, so like I said, random characters will pop up. Also really random friendships. And will randomly change to side stories with other characters. It's just a lot of randomness ok? I'll also add more tags as this progresses so it doesn't look like I'm click baiting y'all on characters that haven't showed up yet. 

Please note that all the companies, street names, cities, universities, and anything else with a name practically, is completely fictional and made up in my mess of a brain. 

** Index: **

_Nothing now, but this is for later when those random character's pop up, just in case anyone wants to know what chapter's they're in._


	2. 1: The barista

The cafe was small, with big windows, and a warm atmosphere. Young couples sitting around sipping drinks together, a group of college kids studying in the corner while sitting on bean bags.

The group of businessmen all looked very out of place, most still wearing their business suits and radiating very authoritative energy in the small cafe. The group liked the small cafe too much to go elsewhere though. Luhan was close friends with the owner, so they naturally felt obliged to go. Besides that, being in a place that wasn't some overpriced, tasteless, Michelin star restaurant, was a nice break from their high-class lives.

They were meeting up at the cafe for the first time in months due to everyone's busy work lives. They always sat the same small rectangle table near the window, got the same drinks, were served by the same waiter, and sat in the same seating order. Junmyeon and Yixing sat next to each other while Sehun sat between Luhan and Chanyeol, leaving Jongdae on the lonely end seat.

The staff knew them all, along with their usual orders, and were usually quite friendly towards them. Whether it was because they were all rich or just cause they saw the group often and liked them, they'll never know, but it's always nice going somewhere where the staff is nice.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun had just clocked in 4 seconds away from being late and was rushing to button his black work shirt up all the way.

"Why are we required to wear _button-up_ shirts?? It couldn't be a normal old black shirt like every other fucking coffee shop?" He grumbled while his coworkers worked around him.

"Language." Jackson, his manager and the owner of the cafe, barked.

"Sorry." Baekhyun replied, knowing Jackson wouldn't take the shirt comment to heart.

"Table 5 is waiting." Jimin told him while pushing a round black tray into his hands.

Baekhyun swore under his breath while rushing out the door to hurry over to the annoyed table.

"Apologies for the wait. I'm Baekhyun, and I'll be taking care of y'all today. What can I get everyone to drink?" He asked, barely glancing at the table as he approached it, busy pulling out his notepad and pen.

When he was met with silence he looked up to 6 men glaring at him, some still obviously annoyed and some only puzzled. He glanced between the two of them, just as confused before the one sitting at the end of the table cleared his throat.

"Two iced teas, three coffee's, one of them black and bitter, and a water with four cubes of ice." The man on the end of the table told him

Baekhyun quickly wrote down the order and squinted at the four iced cubes. "Just..four?" He asked

"Yes, _just four_ didn't you hear him?" One of the taller men hissed.

The dark-haired man sitting next to him gave him a light hit on the arm

"Sehun." He threatened softly.

"Right, yes, sorry. Uhm. So that's, two iced teas three coffee's, one black-"

"And bitter." A man with a light Chinese accent added.

"And bitter," Baekhyun continued "And a water with 4 cubes of ice."

"Yup." The man at the end of the table smiled warmly.

"And please make sure they're cubes. 4 cubes of ice. Not those weird half circle things." Sehun added coldly.

"Of course" Baekhyun smiled "I'll have those right out for you." He turned to walk away but the man at the end of the table grabbed his wrist and pulled him down just slightly.

"You missed a button." He whispered, only barely turning his head to the other.

Baekhyun looked down at his shirt, realizing he'd skipped over one of the buttons. As the man released his wrist he quickly flipped his tray up to cover his chest, an awkward laugh escaping his mouth.

"Thank you." He said quickly and booked it for the kitchen.

"You're such a dick Sehun." Chanyeol turned to the youngest once the barista was gone.

"Making people uncomfortable is my hobby." Sehun shrugged.

Baekhyun was red as a tomato as he pushed the kitchen door open and quickly started the coffee machine with one hand while fixing his shirt with the other. He felt like bursting into tears. Ok maybe he was exaggerating, but with his student loans only getting higher, and finals getting closer, and Christmas around the corner, he found himself running low on money and patience.

"I've got the order, go fix your shirt." Jackson came out of nowhere, taking his tray from him and pulling out 6 cups.

Baekhyun didn't waste a second rushing to the break room and fixing his shirt, before rushing back out as Jackson handed him the tray full of drinks.

"Table 7 needs refills." Jimin shouted as he entered the kitchen with a tray of empty cups in one hand.

"On it." Baekhyun shouted back, before slipping out the door. He sucked in a breath before approaching table 5 and reading off the orders.

"Two iced teas, three coffees, one black and bitter, and a water with 4 cubes of ice?"

"That's us." The man at the end of the table smiled, and Baekhyun quickly unloaded the tray, passing the cups to the end seat man who handed them out.

"If you need anything else, you can just ca-" he started, already half turning to go to table 7 when Sehun cut in again.

"Wait." He snapped, and Baekhyun took a step back and faced the man.

He took a sip of his water and then took a few seconds to stare at it before turning to Baekhyun with a poker face.

"Did you make this?" He asked.

Baekhyun blinked

"...the...water?..." he asked

"Yes the water, what else is there in front of me." Sehun snapped angrily, letting a hand fall to the table with a thump causing Baekhyun to flinch.

"Uh..no actually, my manager..-" he started, pointing back to the kitchen.

"Call him here." Sehun ordered, "and quickly please." He rushed.

Baekhyun spun on his heel and hurried to the kitchen, only sticking his head in and calling Jackson, who took his sweet time to come out.

The two approached the table and Jackson crossed his arms, glaring at Sehun.

"There a problem?" He demanded.

"No, I just wanted the maker of this drink to know that this is the most amazing cup of water I've ever had." Sehun told him with an approving nod.

Baekhyun let out a quiet sigh, grabbing Jackson's arm with one hand to steady himself and turning his head to look away while he calmed his mini heart attack.

"One of these days Oh Sehun, I'm gonna kick you out of here." Jackson replied.

Sehun only sipped his water in response.

"Haven't seen y'all in awhile?" Jackson continued

"Yeah, we went to the Seoul Commerce conference together. After that, we were just double as busy." Junmyeon told him.

"All of you went?"

"Yeah, Jongdae and Chanyeol just dicked around town while the rest of us were working. Coincidentally, all four of us were invited, so it was basically a vacation."

Baekhyun felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders for some reason, and blew out a soft breath, turning back to the table.

"This is Baekhyun, as you've obviously guessed, he's new. Kind of. He's been here for like three weeks actually. Still new enough I guess." Jackson introduced, Baekhyun giving them a smile and a small wave, "Baekhyun this is Jongdae, Junmyeon, Yixing, Luhan, Sehun, and Chanyeol. Also known as code red." Jackson explained, nodding to each man "They're actually regulars, but it's been a while. Anyway, ignore Sehun, no one cares about his adolescent opinion." Jackson concluded, giving Baekhyun a pat on his shoulder before heading back into the kitchen.

"Don't mind Sehun, like Jackson said, 90 percent of the bullshit that comes out of his mouth is either sass or sarcasm." Chanyeol told him.

Sehun turned to Chanyeol looking very offended "Right here."

Baekhyun gave a soft smile "It's fine. Anyway, if y'all need anything just grab me." He told them, leaving to get table 7's refills.

The group stayed for three hours until the cafe was nearly empty before Junmyeon asked Baekhyun for the check. Only after scanning the card did Baekhyun see the 250$ tip. Obviously, he'd put the decimal in the wrong spot, but he was required to inform the other before making any returns. He hurried back to the table and opened the receipt folder.

"So uhm, we scanned your card already but just a small problem." He said, pulling the receipt out to show Junmyeon what he wrote down for the tip "it looks like you put the period in the wrong spot, so if you give me just a second I'll go back and fix th-"

"No, it looks correct to me." Junmyeon cut him off.

Baekhyun froze, glancing between Junmyeon and the receipt for a moment.

"You...meant to put a 250 tip?" He asked.

Junmyeon shrugged, taking the folder from Baekhyun and signing the receipt, "Obviously, you're a college student and it's finals season, plus Christmas is coming up, so it's the brokest time of the year for y'all."

He took his card and his receipt out of the folder, sticking the signed copy back in and handing it back to Baekhyun. "Just see it as compensation for dealing with Sehun." He smiled softly.

Baekhyun blinked before looking down at the folder and then back up at Junmyeon.

"Bu-" he started, but Jimin came up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder as he passed by.

"Just shut up and take his money, it's what everyone else does." He said before continuing on his way.

Baekhyun sucked in, and looked up at Junmyeon "Thank you."

Junmyeon smiled "Don't mention it." He said as the group got up to leave.

Baekhyun went to the register to put the receipt in and add in his tip. Maybe his day wasn't going as shitty after all?


	3. 2: Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how late this was, I won't lie I did procrastinate for a while, but the next chapters won't take as long! I also tried to make this chapter a bit longer since it took ages.

Baekhyun was wrong. Oh he was so wrong. Not just _wrong_, more like Thor aiming at Thanos's arm instead of his head, resulting in the destruction of half the planet, wrong. Ok maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but he was definitely very wrong to think his day would end cheerfully. 

He had gotten his check today, and was excited to tell his sister about the nice rich men who gave him money. Unfortunately, it didn't go exactly as he'd planned.

Baekhyun had always been hesitant about taking money from people. Even if it was simply a kind gesture, his father had conditioned him to decline any such offers. Obviously, he understood that random people giving him large amounts of money was sketchy, but his dad had emphasized it so much that Baekhyun basically had a fear of free money. Nothing was ever free. 

His first memory of his father's odd rule, was when he was 12 and had gone out with his friends to the gas station by their neighborhood. They were young and thought they were being cool, and rebellious, going out without their parents and buying candy. But, Baekhyun being Baekhyun had asked for his parents permission via text first, knowing he'd come home to absolute hell if he went out without telling them. His parents told him not to do anything illegal and that was it. So he went with his mildly destructive friends to a gas station to buy candy. Once he'd met up with them he'd started to worry, seeing as everyone was dressed in black and wearing sunglasses that made them look stupid. They looked like they were about to rob the gas station of 1 dollar candy. 

"You didn't think we were gonna actually pay for overpriced candy did you?" one of them teased him when he'd voiced his concerns. 

He kept quiet after that, silently listening to their overthought plans. 

"We'll need a distraction though, we're not subtle enough for him to not notice us walk out the door with candy in all our pockets." one of the kids complained.

The unofficial gang leader of the group scanned Baekhyun, who was the only one not dressed like a biker from the 80's. 

"Baekhyun you look the most child-like. You go buy something from the cashier and we'll do the rest." he declared, not waiting for Baekhyun's response before he continued, "Alright! Let's do this shit." he rolled his shoulder's back as if he was about to go fight someone before walking forward into the gas station, the group unable to do anything but follow him. 

Baekhyun swore to himself in mandarin so that none of them could understand him calling them stupid eggs. Maybe this was a good thing? He wouldn't have to partake in the actual stealing of the candy right, so there's no way he could get in trouble right? 

He hastily grabbed a bag of candy from the candy section, while his friends hid behind an isle, waiting for him to distract the cashier. 

He set the bag on the counter and the man behind the register took the bag and scanned it without a word, as if he'd already seen a hundred random kids come in to buy candy and leave. 

"1.47" he said distractedly, while looking at a young girl who was scanning the drinks. 

Shit. Money. He forgot to bring money.

"Uhhh…" Baekhyun searched in his pockets, his hands getting sweaty and his heartbeat picking up. He tried to check them as slowly as possible, knowing there was nothing in them anyway, praying that his friends would hurry up. 

After a few moments the cashier let out an annoyed sigh "Kid, if you don't have money just go." he said bluntly.

"No! I do...I just..I can't..I can't... find it..." he stuttered, slowly beginning to panic.

He froze when a hand placed a five dollar bill on the counter in front of him. He turned around to meet the eyes of an elderly lady who was waiting behind him with a kind smile. 

"I've got it lad." she said, placing her bottle of water on the counter for the cashier to add, before paying for all of it. 

Baekhyun looked at her silently while she paid for his candy, guilt starting to set in as he remembered his friends were behind him somewhere stealing. The man handed the lady her water and slid the bag of candy back to Baekhyun, before repeating a "Thank you, have a good day." that was so emotionless he'd had to have said it at least a hundred times that day. 

Baekhyun quickly took his candy, but as he turned to leave he saw his friends run out the door, their hands filled with candy and soda. 

The cashier only groaned and rolled his eyes, looking at the time and writing it down on a piece of paper before picking up the phone to call the police. Baekhyun tried to walk out as calmly as he could, hoping not to look like he was associated with the group. Once he was outside he spent a whole thirty seconds looking for his friends before he gave up and decided to head home.

"I looked for a decent amount of time." he told himself as he walked home, chewing on one of the gummies the lady had bought him. He spat it out immediately and looked down at the package, making a disgusted face as he looked over what he'd just almost died over. 

When he got back his dad didn't appear to be in any bad mood of sorts. His sister was crying in her room again, likely about her 4th grade math homework, and his mom was making dinner in the kitchen.

"Baekhyun is that you?" his mom called, while his dad came in from the living room. 

"It's me." he called back, slipping his shoes off by the door.

He set the bag of disgusting gummies on the kitchen table, and went to smell the food his mom was making, as she kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair.

His dad entered the kitchen and sat down at the dining table, not sparing either of the two a glance, as he continued typing on his phone. Baekhyun left his mom to sit across the table from his dad, hoping that maybe his story would get his father to look at him for once. Of course he would tweak it a bit, but nonetheless, his father couldn't ignore his luck of getting candy for free right?

He cleared his throat before he spoke "Dad, you know how I went to the gas station just now?"

"uh huh." his dad replied robotically.

"Well..when I got there I realized I forgot to bring money with me."

"uh huh."

"And I was freaking out cause I didn't want to look dumb, and just put back the stuff and leave."

"uh huh."

"But, then this random old lady came up and paid for it."

His father looked up, his expression changing now, as he zoned into what he son was telling him, "What?"

"I know right? It was so random, but I guess she was either annoyed cause I was holding up the line, or just really nice." 

"Hold on a second here." His father snapped, beginning to look angry, "You let her pay for you? Did you know her? Did she willingly pay for you or did you ask her to? How much was it?"

"Like a dollar something I think..."

"Only a dollar and you'd make someone else give up their hard earned money for you?" 

Baekhyun looked down, all joy disappearing "It was only a dollar..." his said, his voice shrinking as he messed with his hands.

"That's the point Baekhyun. It was only dollar. Something worth a dollar isn't worth robbing people of their money."

"But she offered..."

"It doesn't matter." his voice was starting to grow louder, and his mother turning around now to see what it was they were arguing about, "You don't ever take money from people Baekhyun. Ever. I don't care what it is, or how much it costs, if you don't know them, don't take their money. What if she stole that money from someone else? What if she's a beggar and that dollar was all she had?"

"If it was all she had she wouldn't have spent it on someone else...." Baekhyun practically whispered.

"You know how old people are, even if it's all they've got they won't hesitate to throw it away to some stupid child who forgot to bring the money he didn't earn. Haven't I told you before not to take anything from strangers?" Baekhyun nodded, too afraid to look up, "Then why the hell would you let some random old lady in a gas station give you money?" 

"Honey, it's only a dollar it's not that big of a deal." his mother tried to cut in softly. 

"Not a big deal? I tell them all the time! I tell them all the time, you don't take money from strangers. How do you know if that dollar even belongs to her and she didn't steal it?"

"I think you're over reacting, she was just an old lady."

His father laughed and turned back to Baekhyun "At least that's what he's telling us. It could've been some middle aged man who followed him all the way back home and is watching us right now. Or maybe he just stole the candy and no one even bought it in the first place."

Baekhyun felt his heart rate pick up at the thought of his dad finding out he helped his friends steal, but before he could retaliate, his mother was rubbing his back.

"Why don't you go on upstairs sweetie." she told him in the most soothing voice possible.

Baekhyun silently got up and left to his room where he argued with himself out loud that he hadn't done anything wrong, while pacing back and forth. His dad had always had some weird tick when it came to money. He almost seemed like he didn't like free stuff. He didn't know why and neither did his sister, but they listened to his little rants whenever he would go off about it. Till now, neither of them had actually been yelled at by him for it, and Baekhyun never wanted to have to deal with that again. He was used to his father being to busy to care, or just not caring at all, so seeing him angry was something new. But not the exciting type of new. 

Later his mother came up and apologized to him on behalf of his father, who he clearly heard slam his office door shut. She explained to him that his father had some problems as a child when it came to free money, and that he was simply trying to protect him from the same. Baekhyun wasn't buying it. She probably meant to say "It's adult stuff, you'll understand when you're older" like she always did, but he only nodded with a smile, telling her it was all fine.

After that day Baekhyun had never accepted money from anyone. It didn't matter how long he had to put up with the "no I insist" argument, he never let anyone pay for him. It wasn't very helpful for him, since he was broke, but he'd been conditioned to do so, so doing otherwise would only stress him out, as it did the rest of his family. 

After work, Baekhyun made sure to hide the check in his bag, not wanting to explain to his dad why he had 250$ more than normal. He happened to be in a good mood, as he walked back to his house. He always got off work late, so he used the time it took him to walk home as his meditation time so that he didn't go insane. He let his mind wander to all of the things that had been worrying him, and then he'd get to his house and feel all better. 

Today when he got home, he was met with screaming. His parents were fighting, again. Probably over something stupid like who dumped coffee grinds in the disposal. He let out a sigh, knowing he was going to get yelled at, before opening the door and walking inside, the volume of the yelling immediately increasing as he did. 

He ignored it at first, slipping his shoes off by the door and trying to sneak up to his room before either noticed him. 

"Byun Baekhyun stop right there!" he heard his father yell.

Baekhyun whispered a silent prayer before turning around, and going into the kitchen where his parents were both absolutely fuming. 

"Were you just going to go upstairs without telling us?" his father asked, his voice was loud and filled with anger.

"Telling you what?"

His father only laughed in response, looking away in disbelief. 

"See! Even he didn't know!" his mother defended, his father didn't bother to acknowledge her in any way, grabbing Baekhyun's wrist and dragging him further into the kitchen in front of his laptop screen where an email was open. 

"You're telling me you didn't know about this?" 

Baekhyun scanned the screen, carefully reading the email.

The scholarship he'd been counting on had been denied. 

The scholarship was worth almost a full semester of tuition, so he'd been counting on it in order to actually be mildly capable of affording college. They'd been tight on money ever since his dad had been let go four years ago, and frankly, they hadn't saved up enough for both his _and _Yeri's college. That meant they had to either split the savings between the two of them, or only pay for one. Baekhyun had insisted they just used it on his sister, knowing her smart ass would get into some expensive college. What he didn't plan for, was for himself to get into a good college too.

He'd planned to simply work during college and then once he graduated he could get a decent paying job, or three, take care of his student loans, and then help with his sisters. He definitely didn't think he was smart enough to get a perfect score on the SAT. So not only had he gotten into a good college, he'd gotten into one of the most expensive college's in the country. Of course, it made him look smarter, and companies basically lined up for their graduates, but it wasn't very helpful when they were unwilling to give him a decent amount of financial aid. He'd almost considered changing majors and going into the military, but quickly concluded he was too weak for that.

This scholarship was what he'd been counting on for this semester. He applied for the same one every semester, and for the last four semester's he'd gotten it. But apparently there was someone who could write a better essay than him this year, cause evidently, he'd lost it. This was definitely a major set back in his plans. And he didn't even know about it till just then. 

"Oh shit.." he swore, looking over the email again to make sure he read it right.

"Oh shit is exactly right. Save the money for Yeri my ass." 

"No. We can still save it for her...I just... I'll just get another job.." Baekhyun offered, looking away from the screen. 

"And when exactly do you plan on working this other job? You've already got two, and you still don't even make that much money." his father growled, turning around and running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"If I can't get one, you could.." Baekhyun mumbled, what he thought was quietly. 

His father immediately snapped back around to glare at him angrily "What did you just say to me?"

"Nothing." the answer was way to fast to be believable, and in an instant his dad was towering over him angrily.

"It's not _my_ fault you had to pick one of the most expensive college's in this entire fucking country. It's not _my_ fault, you're shit writing lost you a scholarship. And it's not my fault, that you decided to pay for college on your own so your sister can take all our life's savings!" he was standing so close now, that Baekhyun could feel his angry breath on his face, "Why should _I_ have to get a job to pay for _your_ mistakes? Me getting laid off wouldn't have even been a problem if you weren't here!" 

Baekhyun kept his eyes down, taking all his father's words silently, knowing that retaliating in any way while he was in this state would only cause a bigger argument. 

"Just go. I don't even want to look at you right now." he grumbled, turning away from his son, only to be met with more yelling from his wife, who was uselessly trying to defend her son. 

Baekhyun immediately fled, only mildly aware that his parents were arguing again as he slammed the door to his room shut. He controlled his emotions long enough to change into his pajamas, crawling into his bed before he let himself sob. 

He didn't understand his father. He knew that Baekhyun would have hated himself for losing the scholarship, so was the yelling really necessary?

It was times like this that he hated his dad's money tick. Letting someone pay for his meal occasionally would be nice. The five dollars added up over time. Maybe if he'd just chosen a cheaper college? He asked himself that question many times. What if he'd just chosen a smaller college? College didn't really matter for him as long as he graduated. Of course, a smaller college wouldn't guarantee any decent paying job immediately out of college. But he could just not sleep? Who needed sleep anyways? He could just work 23 hours, gotten an hour to himself, and then back to work. Sleep was overrated anyway. 

His thoughts were interrupted when someone was cracking his door open and quietly slipping through, being very careful as to not make a noise as they shut the door behind them.

He felt the bed dip just slightly, and a small body was laying on top of him.

"Ge, don't cry. They're just stupid." his baby sister was telling him. 

Baekhyun smiled, sitting up and wrapping his arms around her.

Rae was always the first to come and comfort him whenever he was victim to his father's anger. She was too young to understand much of what was happening, being only 5 years old. Nonetheless, she was always able to bring his mood up anyway. It was almost as if she could sense whenever he was upset, and would immediately come to the rescue.

Baekhyun wiped his tears away, trying not to cry in front of the smaller while she looked up at him with big puppy eyes. 

"I'm ok Rae," he whispered to her, planting a soft kiss on her forehead, "Go back to bed, you have school tomorrow." 

Rae nodded, and gave him one more tight hug before tiptoeing out of his room and gently shutting the door. 

Baekhyun let out a huff, slumping back down on his bed, "Shitty end to a perfect day." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know his dad's money thing is a bit weird, but I have a friend whose mom is the same way and now her whole family can't accept money from people, so I swear it's an actual thing. For anyone that's confused: Ray is one of Baekhyun's twin siblings. Also where are my marvel fans at?? Did anyone catch the second reference? Am I just a nerd? If you did please comment so I know I'm not weird. Anyway, I hope everyone's ready to go broke for Exo's new album, cause I know I am (:


	4. 3: Bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said this would be up faster, but as you can see, I lied. I apologize, school is hitting me hard, and I chose a really bad time to start this aha. Anyway, announcement at the end!

Chanyeol was absolutely fuming. He hated losing more than anything else on the planet. If he had to pick between losing and death he'd probably choose death. Who knows, maybe he'd win something in the afterlife? 

He'd been tricked into a stupid bet with Jongdae, and now he had to treat the other like Game of Thrones royalty for the entire day.

The sun had decided to come out today, so despite the four inches of snow on the ground, it was rather nice outside. 

Chanyeol had been personally driving Jongdae around for the last forty-five minutes, cause he was constantly changing his mind about where they should eat. 

"You know what, why don't we go to the Corner Café? I'm in the mood for a croissant..." Jongdae said from the backseat, while Chanyeol kept his eyes on the road, not as much for safety, but because he knew if he looked back at the other he'd get yelled at for "looking mad in the presence of the king".

"Are you sure? You were in the mood for dumplings ten minutes ago.." 

"Yah!" Jongdae snapped from the back, glaring at the taller through the rear-view mirror.

Chanyeol cleared his throat before making sure to stay in character this time "I meant, are you sure your _grace_?" he said the word with so much annoyance, he was surprised Jongdae didn't get mad again. 

Instead, Jongdae just slouched back down in his seat, looking out the window "I'm sure this time."

"I've heard that before." Chanyeol mumbled, what he thought was quietly.

"What did you say!" Jongdae screamed so loud from the back Chanyeol almost jerked the car into a pole.

He swore under his breath, but made sure to stay in character, despite being even more pissed at the other for almost getting them killed, "Nothing, your grace." 

"Maybe that nice college kid will be working again." Jongdae thought out loud.

"Baekhyun."

"Yeah him, I like him. He looks very huggable."

"Huggable?" Chanyeol gave the other a questionable glance.

"Yeah, like a cute little kid that you just want to squish, you know?"

"You're not actually going to hug him right? Dae, please tell me you'r-" Chanyeol caught himself before the other could yell again "_your grace_, please tell me you aren't going to try and hug him."

Jongdae smirked, giving the other a daring glare through the rear-view mirror, "Is that a challenge?"

Chanyeol took a second to consider his options before responding, "How about a bet. If I can hug him before you, then I can stop treating you like you're the king of Westeros." 

"I _am_ king of Westeros." Jongdae replied dramatically, "But fine, if you can hug him before me, then I'll step down from the throne." 

"Good. It's a deal then." 

"Aye, it is." Jongdae replied, using a Westeros accent. 

Chnayoel spent the remainder of their drive to the café plotting out how he was going to carry out his plan. They'd only met Baekhyun yesterday so it wasn't like he could just casually go up and hug him. He finally decided that he'd ask the barista about how school was going, and since he was a college student and it was almost Christmas there was no way it was going great. So then, when Baekhyun would become upset, he could give him a hug to comfort him, and it would be completely normal, right?

As they pulled up to the café Jongdae waited until Chanyeol came around to his door to open it for him before stepping out.

"Get the umbrella from the trunk. The sun is hurting my complection." Jongdae stated dramatically, touching his face to emphasize the importance of it. 

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, not making any move to get the umbrella "There's literally four inches of snow on the ground. We're going to look fucking stupid walking around with an umbrella."

"Yah! That was a direct order from your _king!_" Jongdae yelled back, drawing eyes. 

Chanyeol grumbled, walking to the back of the car to get the umbrella, mocking the other under his breath as he did so. 

They walked to the café together, people staring at them oddly, as Chanyeol held the umbrella above Jongdae's head. Chanyeol made sure to run up in front to open the door, and bow dramatically as Jongdae walked inside.

They sat down at their usual table, both scanning the café for the worker they were waiting for. 

Chanyeol held his breath when he saw Baekhyun come out from the kitchen and glance over at them. He finished dispersing drinks at a different table before walking over to them. 

"Hi, I'm Baekhyun and I'll be-" he wasn't even able to finish his sentence before Jongdae was jumping out of his seat and embracing him in a tight hug. 

"Hey! That's not fair." Chanyeol grumbled from his seat, crossing his arms. 

"Hi." Jongdae said casually, still holding onto the younger.

"H..hi..?" Baekhyun responded after a moment, still completely confused as to what was happening. 

"Do you remember us?" 

"Fairly..."

"How was your day?" Jongdae continued to ask him questions while hugging him and Baekhyun wasn't sure if he was ever going to let go. 

"It was ok…"

"Just ok?"

He was probably just overly sensitive because of the argument last night, but for some reason that question brought tear's to Baekhyun's eyes, and before he knew it, he was sobbing into the older man's shoulder. 

Jongdae's eyes went wide when he realized what was happening. He tried to look to Chanyeol for help, but was met with a confused, worried gaze. 

"Woah, hey, it's ok. Don't cry." he tried to soothe the boy crying in his arms. 

Baekhyun felt stupid. He was sobbing into some random guy he'd only met yesterday. At work. In front of all his co-workers, and customers. And he didn't even know why. He'd woken up this morning feeling like shit, and probably looking like it too. Two of his professor's had given pop-quizzes, that he'd likely failed. And he had to pick Yeri up from school early cause she'd slapped some girl in the face and gotten suspended. It felt like ever since his argument with his dad last night the world had decided to see just how far it could push him. 

That didn't stop him from crying harder into the guy's shoulder though. He was clinging onto the back of his jacket now, praying that he would at least be able to keep his balance, if anything. His whole body was shaking, and his face felt numb. Was a simple break too much to ask for? Maybe this was all he really needed. After everything that had been happening he just needed to cry into some random guy's shoulder at work. Maybe this man was a gift from God. Someone he could cry to who he wouldn't have to worry about ever seeing again. Or maybe he was just being an immature emotional wreck and now this random man was forced to pretend to care about his feelings? If anything it was the guy's fault for hugging him out of nowhere. 

He felt Jimin's hands press onto his back, and pull him off the man, apologizing to him. 

"It's no problem. Really. I think that's actually kind of my fault..." Jongdae replied, rubbing his neck awkwardly, thinking about all the trouble the poor kid was likely going to get into. 

Jimin escorted Baekhyun back into the kitchen, while customers watched them worriedly, whispering things to each other. 

Baekhyun was only semi-aware of what was going on, his head starting to get dizzy, while he let Jimin walk him into the kitchen and then the breakroom. 

Once they were alone Jimin pushed him down onto a chair, sitting next to him with a hand gently rubbing his shoulder.

"What happened?" his voice was filled with so much warmth Baekhyun only let out a sob, unable to form words. 

Jimin only responded by embracing him tightly, letting the other limpen in his arms as he whispered soothing words into his ear, unable to do anything else to comfort his friend. 

"Don't cry. It'll get better Baek. Christmas season means bigger tips season. Plus you have table 5 now so you get the rich squad's tips too." Jimin knew Baekhyun's biggest cause of stress was his money problem. The other had looked upset all day, and when he asked, Baekhyun only put on a fake smile and told him he was just low on money again. 

Baekhyun forced himself to pull away from Jimin, uselessly wiping his tears away while continuing to cry, his breaths coming out in gasps which only made his face feel even more numb. 

"I'm-I'm sorry." He said between gasps, his entire body moving with the way he was breathing. 

"Hey. It's ok. Everything's gonna be ok." Jimin's voice was so soft it was almost a whisper, "You don-" before he could finish his sentence Jackson was coming into the room, his face blank, showing neither sympathy, nor anger. 

"Go. I've got him." Jackson instructed the other, motioning for him to leave and return to his work duties. 

Jimin only nodded, giving Baekhyun one last glance before leaving the two. 

Jackson took Jimin's spot once he'd left, his gaze almost immediately loosening into a more sympathetic one.

"Sorry.." Baekhyun spoke up, his voice hoarse from crying. 

"It's ok." Jackson responded simply, letting Baekhyun gather his emotions and compose himself before he spoke again. 

"You don't have to work if you're stressed out kid. You need a break occasionally."

Baekhyun shook his head, his breathing starting to calm down now, "No, I need the money. It's fine, I'm fine now."

Jackson tipped his head, giving the younger a look of disbelief.

"Really. I'm fine now. I just needed to cry it out. Just let me take care of my face and I'll get back to work." 

Jackson sighed, scanning him before nodding slowly "Ok." he said, both of them standing up as Jackson pulled the other into a gentle hug, "Don't push yourself, ok?" 

"I know." Baekhyun responded, pulling away from him and offering a small smile. 

After Jackson went back outside, Baekhyun went to the staff bathrooms to asses how bad he looked. It was pretty bad. His eyes were all puffy and swollen, and his face was slightly pale. He let out a sigh, hoping that after a few minutes maybe the puffiness would go down. Till then he opted for some eye cream and concealer that he'd stolen from Jimin's locker.

Jongdae felt like shit. Maybe hugging him out of nowhere wasn't the best approach? 

He watched as Jimin escorted the other into the back and then sat back down in his seat, rubbing his temple. 

"Really Dae?" Chanyeol raised an eyebrow at the other, his arms crossed, and all attempt at staying in character gone.

"How was I supposed to know he would cry?" Jongdae defended, also looking very upset.

"Normal people don't just randomly jump up and hug barista's."

"Shit." Jongdae mumbled, resting his forehead on the table, "You don't think he'll get in trouble right?" he asked.

"It's Jackson, he's not gonna yell at a college kid for crying." 

Jongdae looked up at the other "I should probably go find him and apologize." 

"You should definitely apologize, but I don't think you should go and try to find him. You might make it worse. Just wait till he comes back out." Chanyeol instructed, while Jongdae eyed the kitchen door. 

After ten minutes Baekhyun came back out, his eyes only looking slightly red now, as he brought the drinks, that Jackson had once again prepared, out to the two men.

"Are you ok?" Jongdae asked immediately, as Baekhyun got to their table, not giving the other a chance to even look at him before he spoke.

Baekhyun smiled, giving him a reassuring nod, "I'm fine. I just had a rough night, that's all. Sorry for breaking down on you.."

Jongdae felt much less tense, seeing the warm smile on the boy's face. He couldn't tell if he was just faking it, or if he was being genuine, but it made him feel like less of an asshole nonetheless. 

"It's fine, it was hardly your fault. You didn't get in trouble did you?" Jongdae mirrored his smile, while Chanyeol only continued to look at the worker worriedly.

"No. Jackson's not _that_ mean. Well..he's not really mean at all...but he wouldn't get mad over an emotional breakdown." 

Jongdae nodded, scooting his drink over so that it sat on top of a coaster, "Are you sure you're ok?"

Baekhyun gave him a firm nod, "I just needed to cry it out. I'm fine now. Promise." he offered a genuine smile to convince the man he was ok.

Chanyeol had already been mad that morning cause of his bet, but now he was even more mad, and he couldn't figure out why. He hated seeing the boy cry. He hated seeing anyone cry. It wasn't completely Jongdae's fault, but the fact that he'd made the poor kid cry and now he had to serve them with a smile on his face pissed him off.

"I'm really sorry." Jongdae apologized again, still looking distraut.

"It's really fine." Baekhyun assured him, "I promise I'm ok. Like I said, I just needed to cry it out. I'm fine now." 

Despite the other's assurance, Jongdae still felt like a dick. But he also felt like his presence alone was an irritation to the other, so he simply nodded and let the boy continue serving his other tables.

The two men sat in silence after that. They both gulped their drinks down and then hurried out the door before Baekhyun could return.

When he finally got back to their table, Baekhyun wasn't surprised to see it empty. He'd actually predicted that they'd dip before he got back. He was still thankful for the generous tip, despite knowing it was only another form of apology from them. 

Even though he was more over glad they were gone, it suddenly felt so empty standing next to that table. It was just a random thought but he couldn't help but stay there for a moment longer, staring at the empty seats. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the table behind him as they called him over.

"Exscuse me??" a motherly voice summoned him.

"Yes, ma'am." Baekhyun was answering before he had even turned around, and just like that, the thought was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided to take just a mini little hiatus from this fic, just so that I can organize everything in my mind, or on paper, well not paper, but..keyboard? But I thought it would be better to get my shit together first so that I don't take weeks to post a new chapter, and I can have them out much faster. But, anyway, I hope I didn't disappoint anyone after like two weeks of waiting!


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